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Monday, October 4, 2010

Friends Indeed

When I made a last minute college decision to attend Wofford College over Auburn University in 2005, I was relying solely on a gut instinct. My graduating class in high school consisted of 72 students whom I had known since sixth grade so the idea of going to a school with tens of thousands of students thrilled me. I was ready for the challenge of auditorium style classrooms, football stadiums packed with screaming fans, and hundreds of majors to choose from....or so I thought.

I reminded myself that although big classrooms meant I could get away with skipping class, it also meant I would have a harder time getting the professor to help me if I had questions (and questions are something I am ALWAYS full of). Secondly, rooting on a football team has never been a top interest of mine (gasp!) so having a dome sized stadium ultimately was not a deciding factor for me. Lastly, I have enough trouble deciding what shoes to wear in the morning, so, having a myriad of majors to choose from would most likely just stress me out. A week before the deadline, I enrolled at Wofford.

The next important choice was who I wanted to room with my freshman year and seeing as I was the first person in my high school's history to attend Wofford, I had little interest in playing the name game and trying to scramble and find my dream room mate based on a series of AIM conversations. I let Residence Life make this decision for me and I am so happy they did or else I might never have met Bethany. We were instantly friends and got along so well, we lived together ALL 4 YEARS OF COLLEGE!

THEN

Bethany has remained one of my closest friends and knows me better than most people. She sensed I was having a rough week from a phone conversation we had Wednesday night and before I knew it, she was on my doorstep. She drove the 3.5 hours from Spartanburg to Raleigh after work on Thursday and surprised me. We had a great time catching up and it was the perfect remedy for the funk I was experiencing. She had to leave at the crack of dawn the next morning to get back to work which made her visit that much more special. I am so blessed to call her my friend!

NOW

Speaking of friends, I continued my much needed dose of girlfriend time this past weekend when I made the trip to Charleston to visit Mary Loyal and Tippins. Last October ML, Tip, and I celebrated Tippins' engagement in Charleston and had such a great time, we vowed to make it a tradition (if you can call 3 times a tradition).

As promised, we reunited for a weekend of wining, dining, and wedding planning. Tippins and I arrived at Mary Loyal's adorable apartment Friday night and settled in before getting ready to go out for the night.

We went to a quaint wine bar on Market Street called O'Hara and Flynn. We sampled different wines, shared a cheese board, and chatted about our new lives in our respective cities. Saturday, we had a 10 o'clock appointment to get fitted for our bridesmaid dresses for Mary Loyal's wedding. After that, we shopped on King Street for a while and had a delicious lunch at Sermet's Corner. We spent the later part of the afternoon laying in bed watching re-runs of The Hills. We decided to walk to one of my favorite's, Social, for dinner. The weather was gorgeous!

After a delicious meal, we met Mary Loyal's godparents and close family friends, the Rowe's and the Wofford's, at The Blind Tiger. They were so much fun and we were very impressed that they were able to join us in celebrating well past midnight!

The weekend was over before we knew it but most certainly, well worth the drive!

.....MUST HAVE.....

Continuing in the celebration of friendship, I would be remiss not to mention my friend Hanna Nation's stationary line GADABOUT. Hanna sketches each unique design by hand and adds a personal touch with cleverly placed monograms. Her vibrant color palates, keen sense of style and eye for design make each masterpiece more intriguing than the next. It is no wonder she has already gained notoriety for her exquisite work.

It is obvious to see why girls are naturally drawn to these stylish notecards but her site offers choices that will even get your boyfriend inspired to send that long overdue Thank You card.

Being a friend of Hanna's, it is no surprise that I enjoy singing her praises but I know I am not alone when I say the girl has talent! I look forward to seeing what else Hanna has in store and applaud her for her success thus far. In a society where traditional values and manners are slowly being replaced with the brevity of a quick email or text, it is nice to see that there are people like Hanna who continue to value the sincerity of a handwritten note.